Not many parents in Mumbai open to idea of restarting schools: Experts

Reopening of schools in the city, which are shut till at least January 15 amid the fear of a new strain of the virus causing Covid, is likely to receive a mixed response, according to experts.

Several government and aided schools are looking forward to the reopening, citing loss of learning in online mode. Private schools, however, are considering continuing with the online mode, as parents are willing to send their children only after the vaccination. Private schools said they have a Covid-19 protocol in place in case they are allowed to physically open, but not many parents might opt for the plan.

“We have all the resources for online learning and over the past few months, our students have been able to cope up with the new normal. While we do have the preparedness to reopen, we have doubts about parents sending their children to school, as there is still a lot of anxiety about the virus. We have not taken their views as it makes sense to do so only after permissions are given to reopen physically,” said Rohan Bhat, chairperson, The Children’s Academy Group of Schools, which has schools in Kandivli and Malad.

Some schools said they are still exploring the possibility of calling some students only for exams and practicals.

“For the higher grades – Class 9 and Class 10 – we are hoping that students get a practice of writing an actual exam and would thus like to call them in case the authorities permit. Most of our parents are ready to send their children for this purpose,” said Kavita Sanghvi, principal of Chatrabhuj Narsee Memorial School in Vile Parle.

The school has also prepared its campus by ensuring regular sanitisation, putting up information banners on rules with respect to social distancing on each floor. Fr Francis Swamy, principal of St Mary’s School (ICSE), Mazagaon, said that while the institute is planning to continue its learning modules online, it is exploring the idea of calling students for select interactions if authorities permit.

“Children are cooped inside their homes for a long time now and we want them to come and interact with the teachers and with each other and do some activities together with due precautions,” he added.

The scenario is different at government-run and aided schools, which are awaiting guidelines from the local authorities to start offline classes. Many schools said that while online learning was interesting in the beginning, it is slowly losing its charm as teachers are not able to gauge how much a child has understood.

“As the class size is big, it becomes difficult to know if children have understood in the online mode. We are eager to start offline teaching because children, especially from Class 10, require paper-solving practice,” said Jagdish Indalkar, principal of KVK School, Ghatkopar. The school has purchased sanitisation machines and has installed hand wash stations in every washroom.

The principal of a civic school in the eastern suburbs said that while the attendance is likely to be average in the initial few days, it will slowly pick up.

“Parents need to get the confidence that it is safe to send their children to schools and that will only happen if we take a decision to reopen partially,” she added. Arundhati Chavan, president of the PTA (parents-teachers’ association) United Forum said that while parents are gradually trying to make peace with the fact that offline schools would have to start, many who have the option of continuing online may still opt for it. “Parents, especially from low-income families, might want to send their children to schools if the institutes take adequate measures because learning is taking a hit without offline classes. A blended learning model seems to be the way to go,” she added.